He didn't answer, so I redialed. My eyes started to droop, and I yawned. When he still did not answer, I gave up and settled back down in bed. My clock read 3:42 AM, which surprised me. I didn't think I was downstairs all that long. The thunderstorm had reduced to a low rumble, and it lulled me back to sleep.
The next morning it was still raining outside, but I had to get up to feed and exercise Elvina, so I rolled out of bed and put some jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and boots on. No need to look pretty today; I wasn't impressing anyone.
I grabbed my raincoat from the downstairs closet under the stairs, and pulled it over my head. It was only drizzling, but I didn't want to get soaked.
Elvina galloped over to me, whinnying eagerly. I hadn't exercised her in probably a week; it was going to be a good time for the both of us. "Girl, down," I instructed, pointing downwards. I decided to be lazy and ride bareback. Elvina didn't mind, and neither did I; it was good to know how to ride both ways.
She did what she was told, and I clambered on her back, clutching her long mane. The only sounds I heard were the pattering of the rain against my raincoat and the swaying of the trees, which I was thankful for. No weird music for me today.
I took her around the field a couple times to warm her up, and then decided to trail the woods. There was a nice trail in our woods someone must have created a long time ago, because it was there when we moved in.
The tree cover blocked out most of the rain, so I let down my hood and took in the pretty scene. I always liked riding in the woods after a thunderstorm; everything was at its raw beauty.
The forest was alive and in its summer bloom. I don't know if it was because of the rain or what, but the trees seemed to loom higher above my head, and there were new flowers blooming around Elvina's feet. Roots jutted farther out of the ground, and water droplets pattered the ground as Elvina trotted down the trail.
Suddenly Elvina snorted and pawed the ground nervously, her ears pressing backwards against her skull. I tried patting her and soothing her, but something was seriously freaking her out.
I looked around, trying to find the source, but there was nothing out of the ordinary in sight. Suddenly a twig snapped and Elvina bolted.
The wind and branches whipped past my face, and Elvina didn't even seem to be watching where she was going; there was once or twice where the branches pricked my cheeks with their sharp fingers.
I pulled desperately at her mane, wishing at that very moment I had saddled her up and was gripping stirrups instead of a fistful of horse hair.
A searing pain slammed into my gut and I kneeled over, desperately trying to remain on my panicking horse. I wrapped my arms around her neck and clung onto her for dear life as she reared and screamed, her eyes rolling.
The pain in my gut intensified and I cried out as the most bizarre thing happened. I was being tugged away from Elvina, as if something had hold of me. I looked down and saw the most horrifying thing of my life.
A long and pulsating black tongue had wrapped itself around my midsection, and it had actually managed to tear the bottom half of my shirt from my body. Its saliva seemed to act as an acid, because my skin was sizzling away from the tongue as I was pulled closer and closer into the trees where the owner of the tongue awaited.
It was the most horrid looking creature I had ever seen in my life, and I feared that I was hallucinating. It had the body and head of a Doberman, but a set of human arms sprang out of its ribcage and clutched the tree branches above it, saving it from falling to the ground below. Its eyes were red and intelligent, and it stared down at me hungrily, its gleaming white teeth coming closer by the second. A foul odor reached my nostrils, and my body couldn't decide if it wanted to retch or pass out.
I didn't retch, but I sure passed out because when I came to, I was back in my living room on the couch. I sat straight up, beads of sweat pouring down my face, and I clutched my ribcage as the most intense pain caught fire to my internal organs. This was definitely worse than PMS.
The pain started to become unbearable, and tears sprang from my eyelids as I writhed and clutched the back of the couch. I felt like I was in labor. Killian had run in when he realized I was awake, and I could see that he had worried himself to death. His face was drawn and he looked like he hadn't slept in forever.
He pulled up my shirt, and I tried to tug it back down, afraid of what I would see underneath. However, Killian was much stronger than I was and he gave me a look that petrified me; it was a look of pure terror.
"Alea, I need you to let me help you." A wave of nausea clenched my stomach, and I retched all over the floor, tears streaming down my face as I did so. I nodded my head ever so slightly and allowed Killian to pull the shirt off of my head, leaving my leopard print bra for the world to see.
My skin was bubbling, and you could see my right hipbone. I was bleeding profusely from the wound, and I groaned in horror and shock. I felt the need to puke again, and this time there was blood that flowed from my mouth. Killian was screaming and pressing his hands to my midsection, muttering something unintelligible under his breath.
I must have passed out again, because the next thing I remember is its dark and I'm covered with a blanket. I shivered violently as I gathered my bearings, trying to figure out what happened. The last thing I remember was dinner last night, and the heated make out session Killian and I shared.
"Al? Are you awake?" Killian's voice echoed from the hallway and I grunted weakly, not able to speak just yet. I had just gotten back my memory of everything that had happened, except how I had gotten attacked.
He came into view, and his clothes were a wrinkled mess that hung loosely from his body. He appeared to have been running his hands repeatedly through his hair, because it was a mess. "How are you doing, love?" He asked, and I looked up at him, concern written all across my face.
"Can I have a glass of water?" I croaked, trying to get my voice back. My eyes drooped, and I realized how exhausted I was. "And please, don't leave me tonight…" I mumbled, relaxing into the couch and sighing. My midsection hurt, but it was tolerable.
"I won't leave you. Not tonight, not ever," Killian said sharply, and then kissed me gently on the forehead and headed into the kitchen for my glass of water.
I heard clinking of glasses and then the tap running before Killian returned with my glass of water. I sat up, grateful, and downed it all in a couple of seconds. I looked up at Killian, giving him puppy dog eyes, and he smiled softly at me. It was a smile I fell in love with every time he did it.
He sat down behind me, and I started to lay my head on his lap, but he stopped me by massaging my shoulders. He wasn't the best massager, but I was willing for anything right now. I growled contently and shut my eyes, allowing myself to relax finally in what seemed like ages.
"How did the gig go?" I asked, once I found my voice again and wanted to break the silence. I hated silence, and did whatever I could to keep someone talking. His hands disappeared from my back for a moment, and I heard him sigh, but before I could turn around and look at him he started working on my back again, and I nearly melted with how relaxed I was.
"It was good. Not as many people showed up as I expected, and the others were a bit disappointed, but oh well…" I knew Killian was shrugging his shoulders, trying to pass of as if he didn't care, but I knew him better. He was a sensitive guy, and that's what I loved about him.
"Awe, I'm sorry. Things are bound to get better. You haven't been doing them for very long." I turned around, catching his fingers and intertwining them with mine, laying them on my lap and careful to keep from irritating my stomach.
Killian smiled softly, as if he didn't believe me. I was about to retort but he cut me off. "Let's take a look of that stomach, eh?" He brushed his fingers against the blanket, asking me if he could take a look, and I nodded, brushing the covers from my shoulders.
I shivered, remembering that I had no shirt on, and I hesitated before looking down. Last time I looked at my stomach it was bubbling and nasty looking. However, it didn't hurt so bad anymore, so I gathered up the courage and forced my gaze downwards.
There was a shiny red scar wrapped around my body. When I traced its path with my stomach, it felt hard and bumpy, like scars do when they recently heal. Tears sprung from my eyes as I noticed the equally horrifying scar that looked like a bite mark shining against my hip bone.
"I'm ugly," I said, staring blankly up at Killian's face. "My body is ruined. How can you even want this? What even happened? I don't understand." I grabbed Killian by the chest of his shirt and shook him. "Why can't I remember what happened?" My head crashed into his chest and I sobbed. I sobbed until my heart couldn't take the crying anymore.
Killian comforted me and made cooing noises, rocking me back and forth as I sobbed and rubbing his palm up and down my back. Once I reduced to small whimpering noises and hiccups, he grasped my cheeks in both hands and gazed at me with the same loving eyes that he held when he first told me he loved me. "Sweetheart, you caught my eye ever since I moved here. All those other girls? Those retched, stinking, immature girls were never any match for you. You need to stop doubting yourself, Love. Because frankly, its rubbish to think that you're self esteem is so low. You're personality beats anyone in that high school by a long shot.
"This," he waves his hand over my body, "I would never have it any other way." He grinned an extremely cocky grin and kissed my forehead, then my nose, and then finally ever so gently my lips. I sighed, pleased, and pressed my face into his chest and he laid his chin on the top of my head, wrapping his arms more tightly around me.
"I will never let you go. I promise." He murmured, and then kissed the top of my forehead.
I fell asleep in his arms as he rocked me and sang me a lullaby. His voice sounded strangely familiar when he sang, but I was too tired to ponder on it too much.
I dreamt of a strange man. He was bald and his eyes were completely white. He was laughing as buildings burned. There were people screaming, cars exploding, and babies crying. A car burst into flames right next to me and I screamed, fleeing away from it as fast as I could to avoid getting burned.
The man walked down the streets, a sadistic smile plastered to his face as people died around him and buildings crumbled from the fires. A black crow was perched on his shoulder, and it cocked its head towards the air like it knew what was going on and enjoyed it.
I snarled and ran towards the man, anger boiling up inside me. The man turned and his eyes grew wide. His nostrils flared as his brows pushed together in the middle and he pointed a bony finger at me. "You…you horrible child! You ruin everything." He wailed, throwing his hands up in the air and sinking to the ground as the crow cawed and flapped its wings at me.
A blinding white light flared out from all directions, and I couldn't see for a few moments. When the light cleared and my vision returned, the whole city wasn't on fire anymore. It had resorted back to nature. Vines and plants were consuming buildings, and fresh trees sprouted out from streets. Deer and their fawns sprang over cars, which were halfway decomposed.
I shut my eyes and next thing I knew I was in my bed. I sat straight up, my breath coming out in short raspy breaths and I grasped the blanket against my chest. The room was dark, and there was no sign of Killian being anywhere. I swiped the back of my hand across my forehead, which was clammy and sweaty.
"Killian? " I called, holding onto some hope that he hadn't left me all alone; especially not tonight. "Killian…?" I dragged out his name, my voice holding a note of hysteria at the end. Tears started leaking out of the corner of my eyes, and I looked around the room fearfully. Nightmares make you extremely paranoid.
I was sobbing by the time Killian flew into the room. I didn't know why I was crying so much lately; ever since mom left I had been a rather strong person. I never cried. I figured it was the trauma of last couple nights.
Killian scouted the area with his gaze before plopping down on the bed and taking me in his arms. "I was just checking the surrounding woods when I heard your despair." He pressed his face into the crook of my neck, and I shivered. It wasn't from the cold though.
I reached for him and wrapped my arms around his neck, snuggling into his warmth. "I had a bad dream," I whispered, the man with the crow burned into my mind. I shook involuntarily and let look a shaky sob, then pulled away from Killian and looked at him. I loved being close to Killian, but I could only take so much contact. I liked my space.
Killian pressed a finger to my cheek, trapping a teardrop on the tip of his finger. He stared at the teardrop very intently, as if it had some importance to it. "Do you want to talk about your dream?" He watched the teardrop till it fell from his fingertip, landing on the fabric of his jeans.
His piercing emerald bulbs held mine as I sighed and trailed a circle on his leg with my finger. There was a moment of silence as I gathered my bearings, and when I spoke it all came out in a rush.
"I was walking in some important city, New York or Hollywood or something like that, only I didn't see the Hollywood sign or the Statue of Liberty, so I dunno…" I paused, extremely confused for a moment before shaking my head and continuing, "Anyway, there was a man. He was clothed in clothing that medieval kings wore, all fancy and such, and he was bald." I waved my hands in the air to express my dream, but Killian's face remained expressionless.
"His eyes were the scariest though. They were totally white, like the way a blind person's would be." I shot Killian a nervous look, because he wasn't speaking, but he indicated for me to press forward, so I did.
"He was walking down the middle of the street and everything was on fire. People were burning and…Oh, Killian. It was horrible." I lost my nerve again and my lip trembled, but I refused to cry anymore tonight.
Killian stood up suddenly, and the hairs on the back of my neck rippled.
"I got to go." He strode out of the door, his strut was stiff and his hands were balls of fists at his side. The door to my room slammed shut, and I flinched.
I sat there for minutes, staring at the door waiting for Killian to return. When he didn't I slowly got out of bed and opened my door, poking my head out and peering out into the hallway.
He wasn't there. I sighed and slammed the door, my anger bristling. I shot to the bed and slammed my fist into the pillow, biting my lower lip hard. I sunk into the bed, physically exhausted from all the crying and mentally from the nightmare.
I fell asleep surprisingly easy, and the next morning the sun's shining rays shone through my window and the birds chirped in the trees. I stretched, curling my tongue out like a cat and looked around to clear my eyes.
I eventually rolled out of bed, crawling to the bathroom on my hands and knees because I was too lazy to get up and walk. After I was done giving my bladder a break, I put on some clothes and headed downstairs and saw my father sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee in one hand and the local newspaper in the other.
"Mornin' darlin'," He grunted, lowering his head at me before he laid his mug on the table and giving the paper a firm thrust to straighten it out.
I smiled softly at him and then turned to the fridge. Ugh, nothing to eat. There wasn't even any orange juice…oh, that's right.
I let out a whistle and shut the fridge, and then turned on the ball of my foot and faced my father. "I need to run to the grocery store; you forgot to get food." I waggled my finger at him, mocking my anger at him, but my laugh gave everything away.
He shoved his hand into his front pocket and pulled out his wallet. He searched through his bills and pulled out a twenty, shoving it across the table. "Sorry, last night we were getting a lot of calls."
I picked it up and pocketed it and nodded, snorting lightly at him and giving him a weird look. "I wasn't blaming you. I was just giving you a tough time. Lighten up." I smacked Dad playfully on the shoulder and then headed outside, slamming the screen door behind me.
I climbed into my car and started it up, laying my head against the steering wheel. My stomach was hurting, and I knew that if I stayed still it should go away.
Finally it did, and I pulled out of the driveway. My car was a cute little white ford truck, and it kicked up the dirt on the road until I got to the highway.
I pulled up to our city market ten minutes later, and it wasn't all that busy. Bangor was the third most populated city in Maine and for a grocery store to be as deserted as it was weird.
Since I was only getting a couple things, I grabbed a basket instead of a cart and walked toward the refrigerated drinks. I never got my orange juice, and I was craving it.
Once I got orange juice, I got items required for spaghetti and also hamburgers and steak for when we grilled. I was in line to pay when my cell phone started to buzz.
I gave the cashier, an old pregnant woman who looked like she absolutely hated her life, my twenty, and then checked my phone. Zo was calling.